Bell and SAP Canada announced Tuesday they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly deliver a unified, Canadian-operated cloud and AI solution for the public sector and regulated industries that require strict control over sensitive data and mission-critical workloads.
The collaboration will combine Bell AI Fabric’s secure national network, compute and data centre footprint with SAP Sovereign Cloud On-Site solution and Canadian-based operations team, explained a Bell press release.
“The solution is intended to help ensure sensitive government, citizen and organizational data remain within Canadian borders, shielded from extra-territorial access,” the press release said. “Delivered by security-credentialed personnel in specialized facilities, the platform aims to support compliance with data residency and sovereignty requirements while helping customers to modernize applications, adopt cloud services and drive innovation and AI adoption.”
SAP Canada is also integrating Cohere’s enterprise-grade AI platform into SAP Sovereign Cloud to deliver an integrated sovereign offering. Bell is already a partner of Cohere, which is headquartered in Toronto.
“Building a sovereign digital foundation is essential for Canada’s economic competitiveness,” John Watson, group president of Bell Business Markets, Bell Cyber, AI Fabric and Ateko, said in the press release. “This partnership brings together Bell AI Fabric with SAP’s sovereign cloud platform, aiming to provide Canadian governments and regulated industries a secure, locally operated solution that protects sensitive data, accelerates AI adoption and helps Canada lead in the AI economy.”
“Canadian organizations — particularly those in the public sector and regulated industries — are seeking greater assurances around data residency, technical sovereignty, and operational control,” Cathy Tough, country manager of SAP Canada, said in a statement. “SAP Sovereign Cloud On-Site, operated entirely within Canada by Canadian personnel, is designed to meet these exact needs. Partnering with Bell allows us to jointly deliver a secure, sovereign cloud alternative that empowers customers to manage their most sensitive workloads.”
François Chadwick, chief financial officer of Cohere, added: “Cohere is looking forward to collaborating with SAP and Bell on this important sovereign cloud and infrastructure initiative. By integrating our cutting-edge enterprise AI solutions within SAP’s secure environment, we will remove barriers to adoption for enterprises and public sector organizations, while ensuring sensitive data remains protected.”
